Grandma King's Pinto Bean Pie...

I know, I know...it sounds pretty weird to all you city dwellers and maybe even some country folks as well. However, I think you'll find that this pie is really quite good! Sort of a cross between chocolate and sweet potato pie!

I remember as a kid, I was sort of skeptical of it when Grandma told me the ingredients. However, she had always made really cool desserts so I tried it...and fell in love with it! I hope you try it!

1 1/2 c. bean pulp

3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves or spices of your choice

1/2 tsp vanilla

Unbaked pie shell

The easiest way I've found to prepare the beans is to cook them in the usual manner and use the leftovers. Don't be afraid to use the pulp of beans which have been seasoned (even chili powder doesn't hurt the flavor of the pie). Pour about 2/3 cup of beans at a time and juice on a plate; and mash well with a fork. Run through a fine wire strainer or sieve (I use a large tea strainer). This removes all hulls and leaves only a smooth pulp.
Beat eggs well; add sugar a little at a time. Mix thoroughly. Add spices, milk, vanilla, and bean pulp. Mix well and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour: check to see if pie is well set. Serve pie warm or chilled with whipped cream (or cool whip...).

Now this is great with any beverage of your choice...cold milk, tea, or COFFEE!!! Man, my mouth is watering! How about you...?

Slow Start Sunday...

I am getting off to a slow start today...can't decide exactly how to say what I want to say. Ever have one of those days? Yeah, I guess we all have...

Anyway, I thought that while I was pondering my profound and sometimes profane topics of discussion, we can all listen to a little more sedate and calming voice. If you are not one of those lucky ones that can hear the voices in your head...then I will furnish you with a bit of musical whimsy to help pave the way. I'll come back later (perhaps) and we'll talk about the important stuff, OK? OK!!

Saturday Update...

I really doubt if anyone is up and reading this at this time of the morning...but I thought I would get an early start on the day. Here are some updates on the programs that most of us are using everyday. Good programs all...in my opinion.

10DollarsWonder...just keeps on paying and paying. I am constantly pleased with it and will buy more shares today.

All-Teamed-Up and TotalTeamProfits...these two programs are steadily building and seem to be gathering momentum. Could be profitable in the long run.

PrivateMillionaire...slowed down a bit but I still get a little action from it. The secret is to keep the ads flowing.

TrafficEra...a really great place to advertise and to spend some time chatting with your friends at the same time with the Team Talk feature.

That's all I am going to push this morning...after all it's Saturday and I don't want you to miss the cartoons! As for me...I'm going to have some more coffee and watch the sun come up!

I will leave this little bit of music just to get you started...

I wanted to let you all in for a real treat! I have just recieved my latest issue of the newsletter from a man named Neil Sheldon and with his permission I am including here for your enjoyment...

"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is the taxidermist leaves the skin." - Mark Twain

~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~

Dear Reader:


I don't know what it's like where you are, but lately it's been absolutely gorgeous in the Ozarks.

I guess some people wouldn't agree with that, because it's been raining a lot. One of the things that always amazed me about the people who live in my teevee set is that they apparenlty hate rain. I know this, because even if the whole country's going through a drought of Biblical proportions, if there should happen to be a few drops of rain that occur during a weekend, teevee weather-people think that's something bad.

That's because when you live in a city and work at a regular job, there's nothing you want to do so much on your weekends as get out of the city and do something other than your regular job. That's called "human nature". The idea of living in the country and doing something that you enjoy to begin with never occurs to teevee people, partly because they're city folks, and partly because they aren't real to begin with.

Oops. I guess that was a little too much information. I didn't really mean to say that, but the truth is, I've been suspicious for sometime about the "people" on the Weather Channel.

I'm pretty sure that they're androids... or maybe something worse. Look at them some time, they all have this plastic-y artificial look and they have funny, weird surnames like the people on Neptune. I mean, did you go to school with anyone named something like Heather Tesch? You can take it from me, that woman is full of solid-state circuitry.

Perhaps it's never occured to you to look, but everyone on the Weather Channel has a strange, unreal appearance. You probably just looked at those artificial features and brainless smiles and assumed that they were all from A Large Western State, but believe me, it's even worse than that.


Here, let me show you a little comparison that may run your blood cold:

Sobering, isn't it? Now I'm not the sort of person who'd discriminate against someone just because their skin was made of high-quality vinyl, but suppose you're having lunch with one of these beings, and you make some innocent little statement like, "I wouldn't vote for Neophozon XK if he were the last Prizorg in the universe" and before you can drizzle bacon drippings on your spinach salad, you're looking down the barrel of a sawed-off DeKragrach atom-neutralizer.

Now you wouldn't like THAT very much then, would you?

But nevermind the details, I'll explain to you about how this planet is being secretly infiltrated by golf-playing, ammonia-drinking aliens from A Large Gaseous Planet some other time when there's less important stuff to talk about.

As I was saying, it's really been raining a lot here and being a humanoid, like many of you folks, I really enjoy the beauties and blessings of rain. The grass is getting so green that it looks like it's electric and everywhere bulbs and wildflowers are unfurling their petals in all sorts of colors and shapes. Song-birds twitter in the trees and the spring-peeper tree-frogs fill the evening with their ageless song.

Everywhere you look, life is sending up new shoots and perfuming the air with the sweet smell of spring flowers and Earth is telling you how happy she is that you're here. It's a glorious crescendo of sight, sound and fragrance.

Golfers and Neptunian aliens, on the other hand, hate rain because it shorts out their circuits and corrupts their ammonia canisters. However, for relatively normal people like you or me, rain is just one more of those things that make this such a nice planet to occupy.

Golfers and Neptunian aliens, if indeed they are not one and the same group, would also dislike This Week's Featured Property because it just makes so much sense for normal folks like me, and perhaps you.

That's because TWFP offers level ground for gardening, a southern exposure for your new solar home, tall timber in the back for heat and shade and sunny open areas in the front for gardening, solar collection and your blatant nudist activities.

Not only that, but it's only four miles from a charming Ozark village and just a short hop from two major Ozark lakes.

In short, while we often offer five-acre parcels, you may have to travel to another planet to find one any more usable and inviting than this.

More than anything else, you need to see it for yourself. You can get driving directions, as well as photos, maps and virtually every fact we could think of to include, all just by following this link: http://www.OzarkLand.com

Oh, and when you're done with that, you should mosey over to http://www.Homestead.org where we've just finished adding new material about bees and honey to the trove of country-style advice and activities. If you ever have a hope of getting out of the city, you need to read Homestead.org.

Then, if your boss is still looking the other way, cruise on past the Homestead Cookbook, http://Cookbook.Homestead.org. Besides having a lot of yummy, tasty recipes contributed by the readers of Homestead.org, you'll find ways to save the world while curing one of the country's major problems. That is, I've included a great armadillo recipe. If we start eating these things, we'll never see famine again.

If that idea grosses you out, maybe you're just having an Emotional Critical. Find out by charting your Biorhythms at http://features.Homestead.org/biory .

Finally, if you've done all that and it's still not 5:00 o'clock yet, stop by http://www.OzarkMountainImages.com and pick up some free backgrounds and screensavers for your computer.

~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~

Now wasn't that worth the time...? Here, let's have some fresh coffee, my friend!

It Is Really Spring Going On Summer...

As you can see, Amy the Cat is enjoying the warm weather while hiding behind the ivy so that the Mockingbirds don't see her! They love to dive bomb her when she is out in the yard...especially when they are trying to teach the young ones to fly.

I took this picture a couple of days ago and ever since the weather has only become warmer. Of course, here that also means rain or at the very least showers. But that's OK...we can't complain about the weather too much as some poor folks across the country are being blasted!

Took my monthly trip down to the V.A. hospital today to have the blood test done. Gotta make sure that the levels of blood thinner are good. Too thin...blood won't clot properly if you get a cut or bruise and internal bleeding is possible. Too thick...blood clots too easily and you may have a clot form in a place like the legs and then break loose, travel to the brain and WHAM...instant stroke!

I don't like to take medicine or drugs...aspirin has always been the Hero in my book. However, now I'm not supposed to take aspirin cause it makes my blood too thin when taken with Coumadin. Being a dummy, I asked why I couldn't stay on the aspirin and stop taking the Coumadin...and was told that aspirin was not good for me! Really...?? Wonder if anyone has told the FDA about that! I still sneak one once in awhile if I need it and no one is watching...

Sometimes I think I would be better off if I hadn't stopped drinking whisky...it's like Willie Nelson said in a song " There's more old drunks than there are old doctors...!!"

Oh well, as long as no one tries to make me give up coffee I think I'll survive! In fact, think I'll make a fresh pot right now! Want to join me in a cup?

Special People...!

My baby Sis shared this with me and now I'm sharing it with you. It's a good read...

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it... it's best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.

This is true... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!

Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there !


How about a hot cup of coffee...Friend!

Good Vibes...Or Bad ???

I'm sure that you have heard the expression "first impressions are important". But what are the first impressions that we give others, and what are the causes? In this article about the Law of Attraction , I feel that particular question is addressed. See if you agree...?

" The Law of Attraction exists in your life right now; whether you understand it or not; whether you know it or not; and whether you like it or not.

Until you learn to use the Law of Attraction in a deliberate way, most of the time you are not aware that you are attracting into your life more of whatever you are giving your focus, attention, and energy to. This is referred to as non-deliberate attraction. It can be described in a 4-step cycle as follows:

Step 1: I observe what I'm attracting in any area of my life.

Step 2: While observing what I'm attracting, I'm offering a corresponding vibration, whether negative or positive.

Step 3: The Law of Attraction is always checking in to see what my vibration is and matches it obediently, whether wanted or unwanted.

Step 4: As the Law of Attraction responds to my vibration, I receive or manifest into my life more of what I was observing in the first place.

Then the cycle begins at Step 1 and repeats itself over and over again. Here's how the cycle may be working in your life right now:

You may notice that you keep attracting negative people and events into your life. As you notice or observe this, you are emitting or offering a corresponding vibration. The Law of Attraction responds to your vibration by matching it and giving you more of the same. In this example, more of the same simply means that you experience more negative people and events in your life.

Keep in mind the Law of Attraction is a powerful and obedient universal law. It doesn't know whether you want more of something or not; whether it is good for you or not; or whether it is wanted by you or not; it simply gives you more of the same.

If you are curious about what it is you are offering vibrationally in any area of your life, you need only look at the results you are getting in that area - it's always a perfect match. When you observe what you are attracting and you like it, celebrate, and in your celebration, you'll attract more of the same.

When you observe you are attracting something that you don't like, you can use the Law of Attraction deliberately to put a stop to it and change it into something that you DO want. The easiest way to do this is to ask yourself "So, what DO I want?" and then keep your mind focused on this new clarity of desire. Now you are becoming a deliberate offerer about what you do want and the Law of Attraction will respond accordingly. As you continue to practice this, you'll soon be able to check into this area of your life and see the NEW results you are getting."

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Michael Losier, a Law of Attraction Trainer and author, supports people in understanding and practicing the Art of Deliberate Attraction, so they can have more of what they want and less of what they don't. Michael has been applying the principles of Law of Attraction for many years and enjoys a wonderful and rewarding life in the city of Victoria, BC, Canada. He facilitates a number of in-person Law of Attraction seminars as well as Teleseminars to a worldwide audience.

Makes a lot of sense, don't you think? If nothing else it gives us hope that there is a way to change our lives and improve our situation!

Now...let's have some fresh coffee while we ponder this...! OK?